Evil Lies Within
by No Parking
Summary: I FINALLY FIXED THIS STORY! IT NOW MAKES SENSE lol Merton's acting out of character lately. His actions are becoming more violent, and school no longer seems to concern him. Tommy and Lori have to figure things out before he harms himself, or anyone else.
1. Chapter 1

_Mkay, here's the deal. I wrote this with a friend a couple of years ago, and it was horribly edited and the last chapter was all messed up. So now, yes now, I finally decided to fix it. I couldn't remember my login password with my old name, SuzyLooShnoo, so I made a new one. Here's the original version, just a couple of things altered here and there. Enjoy_

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Evil Lies Within**

By: SuZyLooShNoO and Lycanthrope

Summery: Merton's acting out of character lately. His actions are becoming more violent, and school no longer seems to concern him. Tommy and Lori have to figure things out before he harms himself... or his new girlfriend, Scarlett. NOT a Mary-Sue.

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It was dark in the Lair, and no one seemed to be home. The door was unlocked, as usual, so Tommy cautiously let himself in.

"Hello?" he said. "Is anyone there?"

He quickly turned around at the sound of something moving. He wolfed out when the lights flicked on and attacked the nearest thing to him: Merton.

"GAH!" Merton screamed as he held his arm. "What was that for?"

"Dude, I'm so sorry. It's just that-" Tommy paused, "why were you hiding in the dark?"

Lori moved out form behind chair. "Surprise..." she said not so enthused. She held a present out to Tommy. Tommy raised an eyebrow, as he looked from Merton to Lori.

"What's going on?" he asked taking the present from Lori.

Merton shook his head. "Hello! Have you looked at the calendar lately?"

Tommy nodded. "Yeah...Er- what day is it again?"

Merton sighed. "It's your second anniversary of becoming a werewolf of course!"

"Oh, er- thanks," Tommy said. "Oh, dude are you okay?"

"Er- yeah. I'm fine. It didn't break the skin. You just- uh scared me, that's all," Merton said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You sure?" Tommy asked, stepping forward.

Merton pulled his arm against his chest. "Yeah, yeah."

Tommy nodded, "Ok, buddy." He backed off and stood beside Lori, who looked up to him and shrugged.

"So!" Merton said, clapping his hands together. "Who wants some cake?" Merton dashed up the stairs and came back down with a chocolate covered cake. Merton cut a piece of cake for himself and looked to Lori. She nodded confirming some unspoken decision. All at once the two smashed the cake into the jock's face. He stumbled back, and smiled as he wiped a handful of icing in the direction of laughter.

"Well there goes a whole good five hours of hard work," Merton said.

Lori gave him a look. "What are you talking about? I helped you pick that out at the store," Lori said, furrowing her brows. Merton stifled a laugh, and brushed some cake off his forehead.

"Well..." He smiled and shoved a hunk of cake into Lori's mouth. "Shut up and enjoy it," he said backing away before Lori had a chance to spit the cake out in his face.

"So, what exactly did you guys have planned after the part where you scare me half to death, and then have a chocolate cake fight?" Tommy said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Planned?" Merton asked, studying a random object on his desk. "Who said that was planned?"

Lori rolled her eyes. "Yeah Tommy," she said in a mocking voice. "Who said it was planned?"

Tommy raised an eyebrow, "Okay..."

"Well I guess we could go to the Factory. It's Karaoke Night!" Merton said, getting strange looks from Tommy and Lori. "Er- or we could just stay here and watch a couple of videos..."

"Uh, yeah. I vote we watch videos." Lori nodded.

Merton smiled. "Great!" He pushed past the two and opened a cabinet. "I got some great home videos!" Tommy and Lori looked at each other and sighed while dropping themselves on the couch. "You will love this!" Merton said, popping a tape into the VCR. "Well... you will," he said, gesturing toward Lori.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm about to be scarred for life...?" Lori said, looking to Tommy. Tommy shrugged.

On the television screen, Tommy stood on Merton's desk, looking down at the camera in Merton's hands. "Ok," he said taking in a deep breath. "One small step for werewolf, one giant leap for werewolf kind!" he announced as he jumped off the desk, and tumbled across the room.

Merton turned the camera in his direction. "That's gonna hurt in the morning," he said.

Lori laughed at the video. "Can we say drunk?" Lori asked, continuing to laugh. "Can I have a copy of this?"

Tommy glared over at Lori. "Hey!" He grabbed the remote from Merton. "I thought I told you to burn that!"

Merton shrugged. "Oops."

Lori looked down to her watch. "Oh damn, I have to go," Lori said, as she got up from the couch and headed toward the door.

"What? Why?" Merton asked.

Lori shrugged, "Because I have other things to do."

Merton growled under his breath, then coughed trying to cover it up. "Fine," he said getting to his feet, and opening the door. "Go."

Tommy got up. "Merton!" he said surprised.

Merton shrugged. "What? She said she had to go do better things then hang around with us." He turned and looked at Lori. "Are you gonna leave or not?"

Lori narrowed her eyes at him. "Yeah, I think I better go." Merton gestured for her to hurry up and leave. She shook her head, and left.

Merton slammed the door behind her and rolled his eyes. He turned to look at Tommy who had a confused, yet kind of angry look on his face.

"What?" Merton yelled, while moving back over to the TV.

"What the hell is your problem?" Tommy asked, moving in front of the TV, blocking his view to get his attention.

"Who said I had a problem?" he asked, looking back up to Tommy.

Tommy shook his head. "Er- I don't know, you only just kinda shoved Lori out the door!" Tommy said. Merton took a step closer to Tommy.

"She said she had to leave," Merton said, through clenched teeth. "You heard her! She had 'other things to do'," he said, making quotation marks with his fingers. "Now if you don't mind I would like to watch the rest of the video."

"Fine, I don't know what's gotten into you." Tommy growled low in his throat before snatching his letterman's jacket off of the coat rack. "But it better change." Tommy slammed the door behind him.

"What If I don't want to change?" Merton asked, knowing no one would hear him. Merton sighed to himself and dropped on the couch, laughing at parts of the video he was watching.

XXX

Merton leaned back in his seat, letting his hand brush along Tommy's desk behind him. Tommy rolled his eyes and pushed Merton away.

"Stop it!" Tommy warned. Merton sat forward and turned around to look at Tommy. The teacher tapped on his desk as Merton began to turn back around.

"Mr. Dingle, pay attention to the class. I don't think Tommy is interested in what you have to say."

"Well you know what I think?" Merton said. "I think everyone in here- including Tommy- doesn't give a _crap_ about what you have to say." Merton didn't seem to notice the look on his teacher's face. He just continued to play with his pencil.

The teacher nodded. "Ok, Mr. Dingle, if that's how you feel, maybe you would rather spend time in the principal's office, listening to what _he_ has to say."

Merton rolled his eyes as the teacher began to walk away, and flung the pencil in her direction. "That is it! Mr. Dingle you go to the principal's office right this instant!"

Merton rolled his eyes once again and slowly got up out of his seat. He gave Tommy a mocking smile and left the room.

Tommy shook his head, and focused his attention on the teacher. Suddenly a spit wad flew through the door hitting the teacher in the back of the head. The kids began to laugh. The teacher stumbled forward, and then raced out the door. Instantly, the kids got up out of their seats and ran to the door to watch what was going on. Tommy was the first one to the door only to see Merton running down the hall, trying his hardest to get away from the teacher.

XXX

At lunch Tommy and Lori were on the lunch line, while Merton wasn't anywhere in sight.

"So you haven't seen him since Mrs. Schwartz's class?" Lori asked.

"Nope. I think he's probably still in the principal's office," Tommy said, now walking with Lori to the lunch table. "It wasn't like him at all, though. I don't know what's gotten into him."

Lori shrugged, "It was bound to happen."

Tommy furrowed his brow. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, shoving mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"Well, c'mon Tommy. You've seen how much he gets bullied. Maybe he's tired of it. I'm sure you would be too."

"Well, yeah. I guess so..." Tommy said, taking a sip of his drink.

Lori spun her fork in her spaghetti, unaware of Merton standing behind her.

"Yo Lori, Tommy! This," he said gesturing to the girl beside him, "is Scarlett. We met in the principal's office."

"What's up?" Scarlett asked, nodding towards them in acknowledgement.

"Er- hi," Tommy and Lori said in unison.

"So, what were you doing in the Principal's office?" Tommy asked looking up to Scarlett.

She smiled. "I was caught trying to burn a hole through the table in chemistry.

"Lori raised and eyebrow. "Did it work?"

Scarlett laughed. "Let's just say human flesh burns easier."

"Right...Er- Merton can I talk to you for a second?" Lori said, motioning for Merton to get up. He just sat there.

"I'm sure it can wait," he said, smiling at Scarlett, who smiled back.

"Merton!" Lori yelled, grabbing the attention of quite a few students in the lunch room. "Get your ass off of that bench and come here!" She glared at him as he rose to his feet.

"What the hell do you want? I thought you didn't have time for your friends anymore, and now you wanna talk?" Merton said, as Lori got on her feet as well.

"Why not?" Lori clenched her hand into a fist, about to punch him.

Tommy jumped up and grabbed her arm to pull it back. "Lori, it's not worth it," he said, his eyes glowing a last warning to Merton.

Merton took a step closer to Lori, their noses almost touching. He smirked at her.

"What? Are you gonna' hit me? C'mon, do it. I dare you," he said, starting to chuckle. "Don't let the coward stop you. C'mon, hit me. Right here."

Lori just stood there, glaring at him trying so hard to break loose of Tommy's grip.

"I knew you couldn't do it." Merton flinched forward, making Lori step back. "C'mon, Scarlett, let's get out of here." Merton took Scarlett's hand and they both walked out of the cafeteria, Merton keeping his eyes on Lori.

"Ugh! Tommy, why did you do that?" Lori snapped, finally breaking free of his grasp. Tommy growled, and looked down to his hands to see they where now paws. He smiled sheepishly and ran off.


	2. Chapter 2

Merton entered the principal's office, and slumped into a chair.

"This is not right!" He heard a kid scream off in the distance.

He shook his head and gazed out the window. Rain was slowly beginning to fall, slicking the roads to a glossy finish. A kid burst open the door, exiting the principal's office.

"Since when is bringing knives to school against the rules?" the boy screamed. He looked at Merton who just laughed at him. He sighed, shook his head and ran out into the hall. The principal stuck his head out of the doorway of his office.

"Mr. Dingle?" the principal said, turning to Merton. He motioned for Merton to step into his office. Merton sighed and got up from his chair. He went over to the principal and slowly walked passed him into his office, staring at him.

"So. This isn't like you Mr. Dingle; three times in one day." He shook his head as if he were disappointed.

Merton rolled his eyes. "Well get used to it," he sneered, glaring out the office's window.

"I have gotten plenty of complaints from teachers and students. Your attitude doesn't seem to be getting you too far."

Merton nodded. "Shows how much you know." He cleared his throat and stood, heading toward the door. "I'm out of here," he said pulling open the door and disappearing into the sea of kids. The principal sighed and shook his head, scribbling something down on paper.

"People these days, ugh." Merton turned up the hall, passing a class, and heading toward the bathrooms. He swung open the door and growled. A girl screamed and ran out pulling her skirt up, and brushing hair out of her face. "Oops." He let out a nervous laugh and turned to leave.

He turned and entered the right bathroom. He turned on the cold water and splashed some in his face. Merton looked up into the mirror. "Ugh. I can't take this shitty school anymore," he said. He looked up and noticed there was a window. He smirked and went over to it, opened it, and climbed out. He hit the ground with a thud, unaware there was quite a drop below. He pushed himself to his feet, and looked around before he ran off down the street.

XXX

Tommy was at his locker when Lori walked up to him. "Hey Tommy," she said.

"Oh, hey Lori. Have you seen Merton today?" Tommy asked.

"No, not since second period when he was sent to the principal's office for carving his initials in the desk," Lori said.

Tommy shook his head. "I never got in trouble for-um, I mean..." He paused and looked to Lori, who was staring past his shoulder, paying no attention to what he was saying. "What?" he asked turning in the direction of her gaze.

Scarlett was fumbling with the lock on Merton's locker, trying her hardest to get the combination right. Tommy cleared his throat, hoping to catch her attention. She paid him no mind, and continued.

"Um, hi," he said, taking a hold of her hand, and shoving it back at her.

"Not that it's any of our business, but what the hell are you trying to do?" Lori asked, pushing past Tommy.

"Nothing," Scarlett said. "Merton just asked me to get something out of his locker for him," she said, turning back to the lock.

"Merton's in the principal's office, what exactly would he need?" Lori asked, grabbing Scarlett's shoulder and turning her in her direction.

"I don't think you need to be in his stuff," Tommy said, his eyes glowing.

Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him, and tried to push past again.

"What the hell is your problem?" Lori said, getting closer to Scarlett.

"My problem? This would be so much easier if you weren't being such a bitch about it!" Scarlett said, glaring at Lori.

Lori clenched her hand into a fist, ready to punch her. Merton appeared at the doors, and slowly made his way toward them.

"What the hell is going on here?" he asked, glaring at Lori.

"Well, your girlfriend here is trying to steal something from your locker," Lori said.

"I am not!" Scarlett said. She turned to Merton. "Didn't you ask me to get something from it?"

Merton raised an eyebrow, and looked from her to Tommy. "Yeah," he said smiling at Scarlett. Tommy narrowed his eyes at Merton who smiled back at him, and began walking away. "C'mon Scarlett, we have better things to do than hang out at this hell hole."

"What was that all about? "Lori said looking up at Tommy.

Tommy shrugged and watched as the two disappeared behind the glass doors. "Beats me."

XXX

Merton pulled up in his Hearse in front of a blue and white house. He turned to look at Scarlett. "You sure you don't want to come over?" Merton said. "We could watch a couple of scary movies..." Merton tried to do his best puppy dog face.

Scarlett shook her head, smiling softly. "Cute, but no." She leaned in towards Merton and kissed him on the cheek, and opened the door.

"I'll call you!" he yelled out to her as she opened the door to her house, and went inside. Merton shook his head, and backed onto the road.

When Merton got to the Lair, he found Tommy and Lori waiting for him there.

"Haven't you jerks ever hear of breaking and entering?" Merton said, moving over to his couch.

"It's not considered breaking and entering when you're allowed," Tommy said, folding his arms. Lori nodded in agreement. "What's with you man?" Tommy asked, moving a bit closer.

"Nothing." Merton growled, glaring at him.

"No, it's not 'nothing'."

Merton shook his head. "Why don't you just leave me the fuck alone? All you have done is follow me around. What the hell do you want?"

Tommy shook his head. "Tell us what's going on."

"There's noting going on!" Merton yelled, his eyes glowing. He blinked to cover it up. "What's it to you anyway? All of a sudden you care about every single thing that I do? Why don't you tell me what going on with you," he said, poking a finger into Tommy's shoulder.

"Because I'm not the one with a stick up my ass!" Tommy growled, his eyes glowing.

Merton chuckled. "Oh really? I'm the one with a stick up my ass, when you're the one wasting you're time trying to figure out something about me that isn't even there? When you're the one criticizing my girlfriend and accusing her of trying to steal some of the shit that's in my locker?" Merton said, having Tommy backed up across the room. "Well let me tell you something, buddy, you have another thing coming to you." Merton growled and turned to get his jacket. "I'm going for a smoke and you losers better not be here when I get back." He slammed the door on his way out.

"Smoke...?" Tommy echoed him, turning to Lori. She only shrugged and turned to leave. Tommy sighed and followed Lori out the door.

Merton watched as the two disappeared down the street. He shook his head, and dropped the cigarette into a puddle before opening the door to his hearse.

Merton drove around for about fifteen minutes before going back to Scarlett's house. He got out of the Hearse and walked up to her door, ringing the door bell. Scarlett answered the door.

"Hi," she said, a small smile on her face.

"Hey," Merton said with a wide grin. "Um I was wondering if you'd want to go to the Factory, hang out, or whatever..."

"Uh, sure. I got most of my homework done anyway."

Merton smiled, and took a hold of her hand, guiding her to the hearse. Merton started the car. "You do homework?" he said. He laughed as Scarlett playfully hit him on the arm.

They pulled up to the Factory and entered. They sat at a table.

"You want a drink?" Merton asked, getting up.

"Sure..." she said, staring off into the crowd at Tommy, who sat at a table staring back. He turned to Lori, escaping her gaze.

Xxx

"You know what?" he said, in a near whisper. "I think I know what's going on with Merton, but I cant be too sure..." He paused for a second, looking back over to the two who sat chatting happily. "It could just be a phase."

"What do you mean 'a phase'? "Lori asked, shoving a fry into her mouth.

"I don't know, think about all those abdications he went through..." he said, taking a sip of the blue liquid in his cup.

Lori raised an eyebrow. "Abdications? Since when do you use words like abdications?" Lori said.

Tommy shook his head, "Hey, it was what he called them."

Lori shook her head, and let her gaze drift to Merton and Scarlett at the bar.

Xxx

"So, what are you doing tomorrow?" Merton asked, running a finger along Scarlett's cheek. Scarlett smiled.

"I'm going to school like everyone else," she said.

"You don't have to..." Merton said, smiling slyly. "We could just hang out for the day."

"Merton," she paused smiling sweetly. "I have to go to school," she said sarcastically, kissing him lightly on the cheek. Merton tried to stifle a low, soft growl that was growing in his throat.

"Ok, well I'm not gonna beg you. You can just wake up nice and early, go to the hell hole, listen to the same boring old hags, as I'll be nice and warm in my bed sleeping until five. My sheets are made of silk you know..." Merton said. Scarlett smiled, taking a sip of her drink.

"I know." she said, setting the cup on the bar. "You already told me. I wasn't serious about school, you know."

Merton grinned. "Of course you weren't," he said. He took the basket of fries that they ordered and walked back to the table with Scarlett.

"So, what exactly did you have planned for us to do?" Scarlett asked, picking up a fry.

Merton grinned again. "Same old... Same old," he said, taking a fry and shoving it into his mouth. Scarlett nodded, gazing back over to the table where Tommy and Lori sat. "What...?"Merton said. He turned his gaze to where Scarlett was looking. He growled. This time it was loud and clear. "These two assholes again?" he said. He threw his fry back into the basket and got up, heading over to where Tommy and Lori were.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked, pounding his fist on the table, causing a cup to fall to the floor.

"Excuse me?" Lori asked, getting to her feet. "I'm sorry, last time I checked it was a free country!" she said, glaring at him.

"Not while I'm around." Merton growled, moving closer. Tommy stood, his eyes glowing.

"Cut it out man!" he yelled standing between the two.

Merton's eyes glowed back. "And what if I don't?" he said. A confused look appeared onto Tommy's face.

"Merton," Scarlett said putting a hand on his shoulder, "c'mon, it's not worth-"

"Leave it, Scarlett," Merton said. "You wanna settle this outside, pretty boy?"

"Who you calling pretty boy?" Tommy asked, shoving Merton into Scarlett. Merton regained his balance, and charged at Tommy.

"Don't fuck with me man!" Merton said, as Tommy dove out of the way.

"Tommy," Lori said, "You can't fight him here."

"That's right, Thomas. Listen to your bitch, she knows about your other side," Merton said, laughing, making his way toward the door. Tommy clenched his teeth as he ran after Merton. Scarlett and Lori followed them, along with a couple of other people.

"Leave me the hell alone!" Merton said, getting right up in Tommy's face.

"Man, I'm gonna ask you one last time, what the hell is your problem?"

Merton cocked his head, smiling. "And I'm gonna tell you one last time," he punched Tommy in the stomach, sending him stumbling backwards. "Nothing!"

Tommy growled, and pulled himself to his feet. He gritted his teeth as he tried his hardest not to wolf out, yet was unsuccessful. A few people screamed, and ran off and others stayed, waiting to see what would happen next.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did that hurt? Here, maybe this'll make you feel better," Merton said. He kicked Tommy in the gut. "Ha ha!"

"Merton!" Lori said, running up to him. "Merton, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, that's right," Merton said, "little Tommy's secret wasn't supposed to get out. Oh well! Now if you'll excuse me I'm finally getting the chance to kick someone's ass."

"No!" Lori said, pushing him against the factory wall. "You're not going anywhere." She pinned him to the wall, his feet slowly lifting off of the ground. He tried to break free, but it did no good. "Now. What the hell is your problem?" she said, grabbing his neck, and pushing harder against him.

"Nothing!"

Lori pushed harder. "Merton, think about who you're fighting." Merton growled, and pushed her away. "I don't give a damn about who the hell I'm fighting."

"Um, Merton," Scarlett said, moving closer to Merton, "don't you think that's enough-"

"Scarlett I said to stay out of it!"

"But Mer-"

"I said fuck off!" Merton turned to see the surprised look on Scarlett's face.

"Fine! I'll walk home!" she said. She turned on her heel and headed toward her house.

"No! Wait! Scarlett- just- d'I-" Merton said, but Scarlett kept walking. "Argh!" He turned to Tommy and Lori. "See what you did? Just stay the hell away from me!" Merton said. He turned and ran after Scarlett.

Tommy turned to Lori, "Hey, um..." he paused and looked back up the street. "Did you see his eyes glow too, or was it just me?"


	3. Chapter 3

_Okayyy… So, I've been wanting to fix this chapter for the longest time. Finally, a few years later, I decided to find it and replace it with the fixed version. A lot of reviews said that it didn't make any sense. I realized all too late that it was because there was a bunch of paragraphs missing which were key to making the story make sense. I spaced things out more so it's easier to read. I added the info that was missing and had to change a couple of things in the end as well. Sorry that it took so long to fix, I hope it now makes sense._

_-Suzanne_

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A/N: Okay, this is where the R rating comes in. I'm not sure but some of you may be offended by it. Yeah, that sounded right… Enjoy!

XXX

"Scarlett!" Merton said, trying to catch up to his girlfriend. He ran in front of her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Scarlett," he said trying to catch his breath.

"What?" she asked as she turned to Merton. When he said nothing, she sighed and

turned away, heading back down the street.

Merton growled and ran back to her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to face him. "Would you just wait a minute!?" he yelled.

Scarlett pulled out of his grip. "What do you want?" she said, annoyed.

"I- I didn't mean to yell at you like that. It's just that those two have been annoying the hell out of me lately, and I can't take it anymore." He took Scarlett's hands and held them in his. "I just want us to have more privacy, that's all."

Scarlett shook her head. "No, there's something different about you." she said, shaking her head. "I mean, beating up your best friend? That's not like you." She paused, and pulled her hands out of his grasp. "I need to get home."

Merton shook his head. "Fine. Go home, see if I care," he said and turned around, heading back to his Hearse.

Scarlett kept going, and didn't say anything. Merton turned back, and began walking backwards, yet Scarlett didn't even look back. "I haven't changed!" He yelled up to her, still walking backwards. "Its all in your mind!" he yelled. He Turned around and ran face first into his hearse. He let out a muffled cry as he stumbled backwards into a puddle.

XXX

Merton walked up to Scarlett at her locker with something behind his back. He tapped her on the shoulder, making her turn around. "Hey," he said, smiling sheepishly. Scarlett raised an eyebrow, and cocked her head, trying to see behind his back. "I wanted to say sorry... one last time." He held out a beautiful red rose, dew dripping from the peddles.

Scarlett looked happily surprised, smiling, taking the rose from Merton. "Oh, Merton. It's beautiful," she said.

"Not as stunning as you, though," Merton said, grinning.

Scarlett blushed a little and smiled. "Thank you." She placed the rose on the shelf in her locker, and turned back to him. Yet, Merton was staring off into seemingly no where. "Merton?" She asked, breaking the trance he was in.

He blinked a few times, focusing his gaze on her face. "Yeah?" He asked, sounding rather harsh. Scarlett turned in the direction he was looking to see Tommy making his way slowly down the hall. He seemed to keep his eyes on the two, even while he was talking to Lori. When she turned back to Merton, his eyes began to glow.

"Merton?" Merton shook his head, smiling. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. So is everything okay between us now?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah," she said, "everything's fine." They smiled at each other.

"So um, you wanna do something tonight? Or now...?" Merton said, nodding his head toward the door.

"Sure." She said, starting to leave.

"Hold on." Merton said, swinging her locker door nearly closed. His eye caught the words full moon, and he swung the door back open. The full moon was under March 11th... today.

Scarlett put a hand on her hip. "What?" she asked.

"Uh, nothing. Nothing, let's go," Merton said. He shut the locker, smiled at Scarlett and put his arm around her shoulder. They walked out not noticing that Tommy was watching them.

"He's starting to scare me." Tommy said, shaking his head.

Lori laughed. "Scare you?"

Tommy shrugged. Tommy and Lori started to walk down the hall to get to class. Tommy stopped, noticing Scarlett's locker wasn't shut. He was about to close it when he remembered Merton pointing to something. He opened it, the words "Full Moon" jumping out at him right away. He froze in surprise.

"Tommy," Lori said. "C'mon, we're gonna be late."

Tommy shook his head and shut the locker. "Lori," Tommy said, walking with her, "I think I know what's wrong with him."

XXX

Merton opened the passengers side door of the hearse to let Scarlett in. She smiled, and got in, watching as he made his way to the driver's side. He slumped into the seat, and looked into the rearview mirror. He sighed and started the hearse.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Merton seemed dazed he didn't answer. "Merton?" She waved a hand in front of his face, making the hearse swerve a bit.

"Huh?" he asked.

"I asked If you were ok."

"Scarlett, you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine!" Merton said. He looked at her and smiled before turning his attention back to the road. "So where do you want to go?" She shrugged, and looked out the window. Merton waited for an answer. "Well?"

Scarlett looked back to him. "Doesn't matter."

He nodded, and turned up a different road.

After a while Merton pulled the Hearse into his driveway. He got out of the car and opened Scarlett's door. She smiled at him before passing by him. He smiled and shut the door. They walked to the back of the house where Merton opened the door to his room. "Welcome to the Lair," he said.

Scarlett walked passed him and entered the room, looking around. "Wow," she said. "It's nice." She turned to face him.

"You think?" he asked, taking off his coat. " I wasn't sure you'd like all this." He gestured to the unusual décor around his room.

"Well, it's different, but that's what I like about you." She made her way to his bed, and sat down, running the cool silk through her fingers. She looked around, her gaze landing on a picture on his bedside table. It was of Tommy and himself at some park. His smile was stretched happily across his face, a smile in which she had never seen before.

"So, um, what do you wanna do?" Merton said walking over to her.

"I dunno," she said.

Merton sat next to her on the bed. "See? I told you they were silk," he said, smiling.

Scarlett chuckled. "Yeah," she said. "Smooth..." she continued to run her fingers across the sheets. She noticed Rasputin making his way down the post of his arm chair. She got up to get a better look. "I didn't know you had an albino Python." She mused, unraveling it from its perch.

Merton stood, and took the snake from her, and set it back on the chair. "Yeah. You're into snakes?" he asked.

She shook her head and laughed. "I had a small garden snake that I found outside when I was younger." Merton nodded. "Not quite the same," she said, stroking the snake's scaly skin.

"Yeah," Merton said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Er- Scarlett?"

"Yeah?" she said, looking up at him. Merton smiled. "I just wanted to tell you that- er..." he looked at the floor, "I..." he tried to say.

Scarlett smiled. "I know. I love you too," she said. He looked up and locked eyes with Scarlett. They slowly pulled into a kiss. Merton started to direct Scarlett away from the table and closer to his bed.

_// Hm... that actually worked // _Merton thought.

Just as Scarlett's lower back hit the edge of the bed Tommy burst open the door, breaking the two apart. Merton sighed. "I have to start locking my doors..." he said.

"Oh- er- sorry," Tommy said. "Merton, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Merton stood there, crossing his arms across his chest. "What?" he snapped.

"Heh," Tommy looked at Scarlett, "outside..."

Merton sighed. He turned to Scarlett. "I'll be right back," he said with a smile. He glared at Tommy as they went outside. Tommy shut the door behind them. "What is it now?" Merton said. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

Tommy ignored him. "Merton, I know what you are," Tommy said.

"What, isn't every guy a little horny at times?"

"No," Tommy said. "Not that. I know you're a werewolf, Merton. The whole attitude change makes sense now. Merton you can't do this to yourself. You remember what happened last time."

"Yeah," Merton said. "I almost won too if it weren't for you always getting in my way. Now why don't you just let me get back to my playmate, hm?"

Tommy stepped in front of the door. "Merton, don't do this! If you change back to your old self then everything will be better-"

"Better? Better!? You call getting made fun of everyday better? Or how about having not one girl interested in you? You don't know what it's like, Tommy. You don't know how it feels to be left out; to be an outcast. Well now I'm not. I'm not the loser this time. And you're not gonna change that!"

"Merton! The wolf could hurt you. Once it takes over there's no controlling it. Think about Scarlett. What if it hurts her?"

Merton was about to reply when Scarlett opened the door.

"I think I should go," she said.

"No, you don't have to," Merton said.

"It looks like you two need to figure things out and I'm just getting in the way."

"No, really. You don't have to go. You're not the problem at all," Merton said, glaring over at Tommy.

"Well it's getting late and I'm tired," Scarlett said.

"Well at least let me drive you home," Merton said, "It'll be dark soon."

Scarlett thought for a moment. "Okay," she said, walking toward the Hearse. Merton went to follow when Tommy grabbed his arm.

"Don't do it, Merton," Tommy said.

Merton pulled his arm away. "I'll do whatever I want," Merton said. He growled at Tommy before he went over to open the door for Scarlett. "Are you sure you want to leave?" He asked as she got into the hearse.

"Yes."

Merton shrugged and glared back at Tommy. Tommy shook his head, however, he knew it was no use. Merton sneered, and got into the drivers side of the hearse.

XXX

Merton drove around until he pulled over and drove up a trail towards the lake. The place was empty. He pulled over and turned the car off.

"Merton? Where are we?" Scarlett said.

"Er- this is a place where I come to think. I just needed to tell you something," Merton said. He turned to face an expecting look on Scarlett's face.

"Yes...?" she said.

"Well I know that we've only known each other for a little while, but I feel like I've known you forever. And I was thinking that, well maybe we're ready to take our relationship a step further," Merton said. "Um, if that's the same way you feel..." he quickly added.

"Well, I guess." She said, looking at him through the darkness of the hearse. The only thing visible was his face and hands which were still clenched tightly to the steering wheel.

"Yeah?" Merton said, relaxing.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, smiling.

Merton leaned in and started to kiss Scarlett, both of them slowly moving down, Scarlett's back flat against the seat. The moon was slowly rising over the trees. Suddenly Merton's watch began to beep. It was midnight. A growl escaped his throat, rumbling through the air. He wolfed out and pushed her hard against the hearse's seat. He pulled away and began unbuttoning her shirt.

"Merton!" She said, trying to push him away. He continued. "MERTON!" she yelled, pushing him with all her might. She could no longer see his face, yet his breathing she could register. "I can't do this." She said, trying to sit up.

"What do you mean you can't?" Merton asked, holding her legs against the seat, preventing her from getting up.

"I'm not ready for this!" she said, trying to stay calm.

Merton sighed, then froze, realizing what he was doing. He saw the fear in her eyes and blinked before releasing his grip. "Okay. It's okay. I'm sorry," he said, moving back towards his side of the car, ready to start the vehicle. He sat down and suddenly felt this strong feeling take over his body. He growled and jumped back on top of Scarlett, holding her down like he did before.

"You shouldn't start what you can't finish," he said before pushing his lips onto hers, pushing her deeper into the cushion of the seat.

She put her hand flat on his chest, trying to push him away, yet his strength was overwhelming.

"Mer-on!" She said through the kiss, her voice muffled. He paid no attention, and ripped away her shirt, causing large gashes down her abdomen. She screamed and tried to push him away again. He pulled away from the kiss, his eyes glowing. He tore at her bra, breaking the clasp. She screamed again, kicking as hard as she could.

"Lay still!" Merton growled, pinning her legs down with his own.

"Merton! Stop!"

He narrowed his eyes at her, and shook his head.

"Don't say stuff when you don't mean it."

He looked down at her. Tears were beginning to make their way down her cheeks. He wiped them away, the strange feeling seemingly gone. Yet the moon was centered in the sky, the silence wouldn't last long.

He kissed her again, knocking her head hard against the door. She let out a groan as blinding pain flashed through her skull. Suddenly the door opened. A werewolf loomed over her, his shadow dark and ominous. She screamed and tried to pull out from under Merton.

"Scarlett!" Tommy took a hold of her hand, and pulled her to the ground with a thud.

She looked up to Tommy, her eyes filling with tears, "Leave me alone!" She yelled, backing up against the hearse. Tommy pulled her to her feet. She held her bra against herself as she tried to run away. Tommy grabbed her arm, and pulled her back.

"Let me go!" She screamed, trying her hardest to pull away from the werewolf's grasp. "It's ok." He said, watching as Merton got out of the car.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Get back in the car!" Merton yelled, making his way around the front of the car towards them.

Scarlett took a few steps back as Tommy stepped in front of her.

"Leave her alone, Merton," Tommy said.

Merton shook his head. "Why should I?" he asked, anger drowning his voice.

"Look at what you're doing!" Tommy yelled, gesturing to Scarlett who stood behind him. "Don't you realize what harm you're causing to others, let alone yourself?"

Merton chuckled. "You just don't understand do you?" He asked, taking a step forward. "You don't now, and you never will. Get out of my way!" He tried to push him aside, yet Tommy stood firm.

"No," he said, his voice harsh.

"Tommy, I said get the fuck out of my way!" Merton screamed, walking closer.

"No, Merton! I won't let you do this!" Tommy shouted.

"Fine then. I guess I'll just have to make you move," Merton said. He grabbed Tommy and threw him into the hard trunk of a tree. "Now," Merton said, looking back at Scarlett, "where were we?" Merton smiled evilly and moved to grab Scarlett but Tommy grabbed him and pinned him against the Hearse.

"Leave her the hell alone." Tommy said, growling. "Or so help me god." Merton shook his head, and tried to pull away, yet the other werewolf's strength was too strong.

"I'm warning you, Tommy! Let go of me!" Merton exclaimed, but Tommy held him down in his firm grip. "Alright, if you don't wanna listen..." Merton kneed Tommy in the groin, making him double over and fall back. Merton ran over to Scarlett, grabbed her by the arms, and shoved her into the car. Merton quickly dove inside the car with her.

Tommy groaned, and pulled himself to his feet.

"Merton!"

He stumbled over to the hearse, and pulled at the door. It was locked. He looked through the tinted window to see Merton smiling back at him, his eyes glowing. Merton then turned his full attention back towards Scarlett. He slammed her down, his legs spread on either side of her mid section. He leaned forward, pushing his weight down firmly onto her hip with one hand. She winced in pain. With his free hand he ran a single claw from her cheek down her neck and side towards her waist-line. Merton slowly sat back, transferring his weight to still hold her in place. He groaned and bit his bottom lip. An evil smile emerged as he began to unbuckle his belt.

"Damn it, Merton. Leave her alone!" Tommy sighed, and pulled back a fist, and slammed it through the window, glass flying in every direction. He unlocked the door, and pulled it open. Scarlett fell to the ground again, and tried to get up, yet Merton held her legs from above.

Tommy took hold of Merton's shirt and threw him to the side, breaking Merton's hold on her. Scarlett took advantage of the situation, quickly scrambling to her feet and running off.

Merton groaned, getting up slowly while brushing dirt off of his shirt. "Now look what you've done!" Merton yelled. "It was too much for you, wasn't it? Your freak of a friend finally got some happiness, but you just couldn't stand it could you? The great Tommy Dawkins has to have it all; no one else. You're always ruining everything for me! Arrghh!"

Merton charged Tommy, a glowing anger in his eyes. Tommy braced himself, quickly moving to the side at the last minute, grabbing Merton from behind as he passed. Tommy swung Merton around only to come in contact with his fist. Tommy staggered backwards holding his nose. Merton wasted no time. He furiously started to beat on his friend, punching and kicking whatever surface he could get access to. One final kick sent Tommy crashing to the floor.

"Get up you piece of shit!" Merton kicked Tommy in the gut. Tommy curled into a fetal position, coughing and clutching his stomach. "Feels good to be the weaker one doesn't it?" Merton kicked Tommy in the face, causing his whole body to roll over. "Ha! How do you like that?" Merton raised his leg to give Tommy another blow, but to his surprise, the jock sprung up on one leg, swinging his other towards Merton's set ankle. It happened so quickly that Merton didn't have time to break his fall. He came crashing down, the back of his head smashing into the solid ground.

Tommy quickly got to his feet, huddling over Merton, his arms up ready to defend himself.

Merton lay stiff, blinking a few times.

"Tommy?" Merton said, softly.

Tommy's expression softened, though he took no chances. He wouldn't let himself become vulnerable to another unexpected blow. He kept his arms raised.

Merton slowly sat up, one arm behind him to support his weight. He winced, squeezing his eyelids shut tight, bringing his free hand to the back of his head. After a moment he slowly opened his eyes, looked around, stopping to look at the smashed-in window of his Hearse. He turned back to Tommy.

"What happened? Where am I?"

Tommy shook his head. "Oh don't pull that one on me."

Merton furrowed his brow. "No, really," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Tommy cautiously lowered his arms, still eyeing his friend suspiciously. He said nothing.

Merton furrowed his brow and attempted to stand. A bright white light flashed before his eyes and a searing pain pierced his brain. Both of his hands shot up to grab at his temples. Instinctively, Tommy took hold of his friend's arm and helped him to his feet. Merton swerved a little but managed to keep his balance. When the light began to fade he lowered his hands to his sides and slowly raised his head. Once Tommy was certain his friend was stable, he carefully let go of his arm. Merton turned his attention towards his hearse and slowly made his way over to it.

He looked into the side view mirror and saw that he was wolfed out. He looked into the car and saw that parts of his seat were ripped, and a shirt that was torn and had blood on it. He thought for a second. He knew that shirt...

"Shit," he said softly to himself. He spun around to look at Tommy, quickly regretting it. He ignored the pain. "Where's Scarlett?" he demanded.

Tommy shrugged. "She ran off, probably scared to death by now. We'd better find her. She was so confused and unaware of what direction she was running off towards."

Merton sighed. "How are we supposed to find her?" He asked, fazing off into the woods. "There has to be a three- hundred acres of forest..."

"Merton, wait!"

Merton wondered through the woods wondering what the hell Tommy was talking about. What did he do to make Scarlett run away? The one thing that bothered him most was if Scarlett was okay. He shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts from his mind, and focusing more on Scarlett's scent. He stopped in his tracks, sniffing the air.

"Scarlett?" he said more to himself than anything else. He started walking toward a small tool shed, which was placed beside a house that had burned down years ago. "Scarlett?" He tried again, picking up on the heart beat of a large creature.

Something inside the tool shed moved, causing a loud noise. Merton heard a small whimper and walked closer to it. "Scarlett? Is that you?" Merton said. He slowly approached the doorway to the shed and looked around in it. "It's Merton. Are you in here?"

The moving stopped, yet he could still hear the breathing within. "Scarlett, everything's going to be okay..." he pushed open the door.

He saw a shadow jump up from its sitting position. "Stay where you are!" a voice cried out.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Merton said, taking a step closer. He quickly jumped back from the shadow when it swung something at him. "Scarlett!" he yelled, his eyes glowing. In the light, he saw her standing in the corner of the tiny shed, fear in her eyes. "It's ok." he said, moving closer. "I promise I won't hurt you."

She held tight to what ever she had swung at him, ready to do it again. "Just get away from me, Merton!" Scarlett said. "I don't want anything to do with you! Leave me alone!" She tried to hit him and make a run for the door, but he grabbed her and held her close to him.

"Scarlett! Just tell me what's wrong!" Merton said. She struggled to get out of his hold, but it did no good.

"Let me go!" She screamed.

"What happened?"

Scarlett narrowed her eyes, and realized he was completely serious. "I... I don't know," she said, trying to pull away.

Merton shook his head. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" Scarlett didn't answer, yet the gouges in her stomach were visible. He sighed, pulling her close. "I would never hurt you on purpose," he said, in all seriousness. He calmed down, slowly starting to de-wolf. "I should have listened to Tommy." Merton loosened his grip on her, so she could back up and look at him.

"What are you talking about?" Scarlett asked.

Merton sighed, and turned his head away from her, leaning against the wall.

"Its hard to explain." he said, looking over to her. "My whole life, everything's been so hard, yet I've been able to deal with it. I thought I didn't need any help with this, I thought I could make it."

Scarlett shook her head. "Deal with what?" Merton rubbed the back of his neck. "Look at me, Scarlett. What do you see?" He turned to her.

Scarlett squinted her eyes, trying to see in the dark, but it did no good. She shook her head. "Well the Merton I knew was sweet, kind, and knew just how to make me laugh," she said. "But at times it got weird. And then you started to get violent and scary. And now I don't know what to think of you anymore. I- I just don't know."

Merton shook his head again. "I should have listened. Why didn't I listen? We wouldn't be in this mess." He paused. "But, you... you wouldn't be here. I thought I was changing for the good. I had all the friends I could ever want..."

"Merton, I still don't know what you're talking about. What do you mean changing?" Scarlett said.

"You know what's wrong with Tommy?" he asked, looking away from her.

"Not really..."

Merton laughed a fake chuckle, "You saw him, He's a werewolf. We had a party to celebrate the year anniversary, a surprise party. We scared him, and he attacked the first thing he saw. Me."

Scarlett took a moment to put it all together. "You're... a... a werewolf?"

"Yeah..." he said, slowly moving toward her.

Scarlett started to move backwards.

"But it's okay!" Merton said. "Or at least I thought it was okay. I never meant to hurt you. You have to believe me, I would never want to hurt you! Ever!" Merton said, but it did no use. Scarlett was still terrified, continuing to move backwards.

Merton sighed. "Fine." he breathed. "But let me drive you to a hospital. Those cuts…" Merton trailed off. He was so upset and confused. He couldn't believe that he would ever do something like this. He put out his hand waiting for her to take it.

Scarlett didn't move. Her eyes were so wide; her breathing so fast. She just stared at him.

"Scarlett-"

"Just leave."

"C'mon Scarlett. Don't be-"

"JUST LEAVE!"

Merton flinched at the sudden tone in her voice. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't just leave her here, but she didn't look like she was going anywhere any time soon. He lowered his hand and slowly made it towards the door. He stopped just before the exit.

"I- I'm sorry," Merton whispered, not turning around.

Scarlett stood there, staring at the ground, thinking over everything that she had just heard come out of Merton's mouth. Werewolf? And then it all made sense. She wanted to believe Merton, she really did, but it was just all too much to handle in one night. She wanted to go with him, yet her feet felt glued to the ground. She couldn't figure out what was going on, her legs felt numb. She snapped out of her train of thought, noticing the blood-stained mark in the dirt. She quickly looked up, with her mouth open, ready to reply. All she found was darkness.

Merton was gone.

* * *

A/N: Well yeah. We're planning on stopping here, but it's up to you to tell us if you think we should keep going or not. Thanks! Please R&R! 


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